CVE-2026-53488

Host command execution via unvalidated image labels

Published Jul 1, 2026 · Updated Jul 1, 2026

Command injection in the containerd CRI plugin in affected releases allows attackers to execute host commands through a crafted image. The CRI label builder copies reserved containerd.io and io.cri-containerd labels from image configuration into container metadata, allowing the restart monitor to interpret a binary log URI as a host command. Exploitation requires the crafted image to be pulled through CRI and a label-consuming plugin to act on the injected metadata, resulting in host-root command execution.

CVSS severity9.4
Critical
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Command injection in the containerd CRI plugin in affected releases allows attackers to execute host commands through a crafted image. The CRI label builder copies reserved containerd.io and io.cri-containerd labels from image configuration into container metadata, allowing the restart monitor to interpret a binary log URI as a host command. Exploitation requires the crafted image to be pulled through CRI and a label-consuming plugin to act on the injected metadata, resulting in host-root command execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-53488
Published
Jul 1, 2026
Updated
Jul 1, 2026
Vendor
containerd
Product
containerd
Classifications
CWE-20, T1059
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 1, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 1.7.33
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 2.0.0, < 2.0.10
  3. Affected versionversion=>= 2.1.0, < 2.1.9
  4. Affected versionversion=>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.5
  5. Affected versionversion=>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

containerd · containerdversion=< 1.7.33; version=>= 2.0.0, < 2.0.10; version=>= 2.1.0, < 2.1.9; version=>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.5; version=>= 2.3.0, < 2.3.2

Published CVSS scores

9.4GitHub CNACVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1059Command and Scripting Interpreter

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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